"Live" does not in this case refer to + or - voltage but to if the wire / tourch has that voltage all the time or just when the trigger is pressed / wire is coming out the tip.
Justme
- Thread starter Dangle_kt
- Start date
"Live" does not in this case refer to + or - voltage but to if the wire / tourch has that voltage all the time or just when the trigger is pressed / wire is coming out the tip.
Justme
malcolm
& Clementine the Cat
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Welcome
It should be possible to convert to a large gas bottle. You'll need a regulator and an adapter pipe with the appropriate fittings on each end. A welding shop should be able to sort you out with both.
I believe the welder itself will be a false economy. It's a new model and I've not tested this one, but all the really cheap ones I've tried have proved difficult to use and I've had poor results especially when welding under imperfect conditions (underneath a bus for example).
AH I see. Why would you want/need the wire to be live all the time? sounds a bit dangerous to me, I assumed that they were all dead until the trigger is pressed?
You wouldn't but it's cheaper to make them that way so some of the very cheap welders are permanently live.
You've reminded me of something I forgot to mention about the Aldi MIG welder - the basic 'system architecture' looks almost the same to me as my 'professional' level Sealey in that both have a fairly sizeable choke/reactor in addition to the main transformer, rectifier, wire feed PCB, etc. Neither has any electrolytic capacitors in the main power line but I doubt if many/any of the Clarke MIGs do, either. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Perhaps the Portamigs have capacitors. Perhaps that's why Malcolm finds they produce better results than lower-priced machines. I was mighty impressed with Aero's Portamig at our weld meet in January. Like others here, I hope to add capacitors to any MIG welder which I decide to keep, as a DIY enhancement. It strikes me as a highly cost-effective modification, in addition to beefing-up the wire feed power supply.
malcolm
& Clementine the Cat
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The Portamig 181 doesn't have any capacitors - it follows a similar architecture to the rest. Visually there's not a lot to tell it apart apart from size.
Occasionally I have people turn up asking for help with welding. Usually they have a cheap machine that they are struggling with and they think the problem is with them. Oddly they seem to be able to weld well using the Portamig.
I know you are blinkered and won't believe it could be possible, but a decent welder really does make a huge difference. It shouldn't take much welding to find that out.
Have you tried any of your MIG collection yet? You layed a nice bead first time using Aero's welder so maybe you could make a comparison.
Occasionally I have people turn up asking for help with welding. Usually they have a cheap machine that they are struggling with and they think the problem is with them. Oddly they seem to be able to weld well using the Portamig.
I know you are blinkered and won't believe it could be possible, but a decent welder really does make a huge difference. It shouldn't take much welding to find that out.
Have you tried any of your MIG collection yet? You layed a nice bead first time using Aero's welder so maybe you could make a comparison.
Here's the data plate from the side of the Aldi MIG welder. This one may be low cost but the low voltage (15.5V) and reasonably low current (30A) seem quite good, I would have thought. It's a pity it doesn't go down to the initially-advertised 25A but only some of the Clarke's go down below 30A so it still looks fair enough.
Duty cycle appears to be 100% at 30A and 10% at 130A. I can live with that as I'm most interested in the minimum settings for thin metal. I'm happy to use arc on anything requiring much more than 50A, so I can't see myself wanting to use a 130A setting on a MIG.
Perhaps the nearest Clarke, as listed on Machine Mart's website, is the Clarke 135TE which they say is 30-130 amps. The Clarke's voltage range is 19-30 volts so it doesn't go down as low as the Aldi MIG (15.5V) but does go higher. Is open circuit voltage particularly important? I don't know! I thought current is the main thing. The Clarke is rated at 60% duty at 60A which seems better than the Aldi MIG because the Aldi MIG only has 43A at 60% duty, if I'm reading the table correctly. But, the Aldi MIG is only £139 compared to £253 for the Clarke.
I guess wire feed power and reliability is the main thing, if it's not capacitors. Is that the main factor which leads to some people struggling with cheap MIG welders? I must admit I haven't tried my old Sealey MIG yet. Sad but true! And I haven't used the Aldi MIG either! Yes, I was amazed at the ease with which I could lay down a half decent weld bead on thin sheet, at my very first attempt with Aero's Portamig. I'll definitely remember that as a reference point when I try my own MIG(s). It was so easy, like point and shoot. A child could have done it but there are plenty of images on here of beginners' MIG welding which aren't like that, at all. Is this primarily due to machine shortcomings or 'operator error'? I didn't appear to need any skill but I noticed that you and Aero knew exactly the correct settings for power, wire speed and gas flow, so I'm sure that helped, thank you.
shenion
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Low-end MIGs don't have capacitors to smooth the output. The cheap ones like Wolf do not even have any to reduce spikes emitted on the power lines.
The CLarke welders have small caps across the diodes to reduce noise emitted. That raises the OCV a bit.
I had my brother try my Clarke. Was laying perfect beads in his first try.
A lot of the chicken-poop weld you see are SIP's with their poor wire feeder controller. They are real sensitive to any drag in the feeder as the controller does not regulate the voltage. Once you do the mods to get a more stable power source, they work better.
We'll see if these work ok. Would like to see the schematic and insides, the other Wolf welders I have seen were useless as they had no reactor or filter caps, but that was a gasless version.
This topic sure is miandering through a range of discussions!
Just a small update, I tried fluxed wire totday, as the gas ran out.
It was ace, sizzled lovley, and laid down some beads as good as I could with the arc welder.
Apart from a load of little blobs which were around the weld, the weld was pretty good.
I'll post some pictures up later.
Need to get some time in the garage to try some welds on something other than flat.
Just a small update, I tried fluxed wire totday, as the gas ran out.
It was ace, sizzled lovley, and laid down some beads as good as I could with the arc welder.
Apart from a load of little blobs which were around the weld, the weld was pretty good.
I'll post some pictures up later.
Need to get some time in the garage to try some welds on something other than flat.
Hi,
I'm a new member but I have been reading up on some of the modifications some of the members have done on their MIGs to get them to work a bit better.
From what I have read the problem with the lower end MIGs is virtually always down to the wire feed speed control. If this is the case with the Aldi MIG and to get it to perform on par with a Clarke is just a case of adding a dedicated power supply for the wire feed or a capacitor here & there, then it seems to me that this MIG is going to represent good value for money for the hobbyist as it's over £100 cheaper than the equivalent Clarke.
What do you think?
Cheers.
I'm a new member but I have been reading up on some of the modifications some of the members have done on their MIGs to get them to work a bit better.
From what I have read the problem with the lower end MIGs is virtually always down to the wire feed speed control. If this is the case with the Aldi MIG and to get it to perform on par with a Clarke is just a case of adding a dedicated power supply for the wire feed or a capacitor here & there, then it seems to me that this MIG is going to represent good value for money for the hobbyist as it's over £100 cheaper than the equivalent Clarke.
What do you think?
Cheers.
malcolm
& Clementine the Cat
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Wire feed is important, but you might need to budget for a transformer too. The one in the photos looked like it had only a few windings so also expect a less smooth arc and fuse blowing. There will likely be other cost-downs which reduce performance.
I'd be surprised if you could modify it for less money than a welder already built to the standard you want.
I'd be surprised if you could modify it for less money than a welder already built to the standard you want.
The photo of the Aldi board, looks like an SCR type board, they seem to regulate speed better than the SIP.
The motor looks 2 or 3 times bigger than the SIP type.
Between the SCR board and the larger motor the only thing that might be questionable , would be the wire feed conduits to the tip, and a metal liner would fix that.
But time and use, will tell.
Robert
The motor looks 2 or 3 times bigger than the SIP type.
Between the SCR board and the larger motor the only thing that might be questionable , would be the wire feed conduits to the tip, and a metal liner would fix that.
But time and use, will tell.
Robert
Well that is good news about the feed speed being consistant. 
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=6719
Cheers.
Don't you mean a piece of curtain wire would fix it...
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=6719
Cheers.
verdict on aldi welder?
Hi Guys,
Aldi mig still in box unused after a week now. Still not sure wether to buy it.
Any feedback from anyone who has bought and tried out this particular model through the week.
Whats the verdict from forum members.
Any comments welcome,
(a very undecided) mosschops
Hi Guys,
Aldi mig still in box unused after a week now. Still not sure wether to buy it.
Any feedback from anyone who has bought and tried out this particular model through the week.
Whats the verdict from forum members.
Any comments welcome,
(a very undecided) mosschops
Well my gas mig welding went badly, but I think I might have had the polarity the wrong way round! OPPS! (so you can effectivly ignore the pictures of the bird poo welds)
I switched to gasless wire, as my CO2 ran out and have had great success welding up my kit car front wing stays. 2.5mm flat in the main.
Managed some very nice butt joints, with excellent penetration.
I'm a complete newb to mig welding, but not to welding (arc) but was suprised how simple it was to do once I had realised my silly mistake with the polarity.
I still need more practice, as my fillet welds leave a little to be desired, but they are fuctional, and nothing a bit of dressing with a grinder hasn't fixed.
Going to get me some pub gas, and switch the polarity over to see how I get on with some thin stuff.
I class it as a keeper, and for the money I'm chuffed. The only think I'm annoyed by is how fast the co2 ran out - but it is only a rubbish disposable.
I know there are going to be far better machines, but for me, as a very low use hobbyist, it means I can spend my hard earned on other car stuff.
I switched to gasless wire, as my CO2 ran out and have had great success welding up my kit car front wing stays. 2.5mm flat in the main.
Managed some very nice butt joints, with excellent penetration.
I'm a complete newb to mig welding, but not to welding (arc) but was suprised how simple it was to do once I had realised my silly mistake with the polarity.
I still need more practice, as my fillet welds leave a little to be desired, but they are fuctional, and nothing a bit of dressing with a grinder hasn't fixed.
Going to get me some pub gas, and switch the polarity over to see how I get on with some thin stuff.
I class it as a keeper, and for the money I'm chuffed. The only think I'm annoyed by is how fast the co2 ran out - but it is only a rubbish disposable.
I know there are going to be far better machines, but for me, as a very low use hobbyist, it means I can spend my hard earned on other car stuff.
Hi dangle
Sounds like you in same position as myself,
only weld as a hobby, mostly arc, small diy projects, as yet no experience of mig welding.
like the idea of having a mig just in case its needed.
Cannot justify spending 350+ on one that may only rarely get used, however I am planning a restoration project on either car or campervan in near future.
Hence, I still remain undecided as I am not sure how much I will be mig welding in future.
Like anything there seems to be pros and cons with whatever grade of welder you buy.
Good luck with your mig. Sounds like its going well for you.
Keep posting updates on forum, will keep a close eye on this thread in meantime.
mosschops.
Rusty
Member
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- 600
GeorgeB , I believe 75% of a good weld is down to the welder being ' setup ' properly for the job in hand ,if you left a beginner with a Portamig he probably wouldn't do too well , then let a pro set the welder up ( even your Aldi MIG ) and the beginner would probably get instant success
shenion
Tool Pack Rat
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- Stone Mountain, GA USA
GeorgeB, welders like a PortaMIG have significant differences:
Heavy-duty wire feeder - Much more consistent wire speed.
Copper transformer and choke windings - better duty cycle and lower resistance. Also make the voltage more constant with load. That makes the weld more consistent with variances in technique.
More power settings - 16 vs 4 or 6. Allows better power settings.
Noise filtering - Caps on AC line and rectifier to surpress noise. These are noticable absent on many Wolf welders; no wonder peoiple mention their lights flicker (and neighbors lights.)
Adding caps to a MIG that was not designed for it will increase the minimum current significantly. Will weld a bit smoother, at a cost of being able to weld thin metal. It is also harder on the diodes; they may fail due to the surge currents.
Heavy-duty wire feeder - Much more consistent wire speed.
Copper transformer and choke windings - better duty cycle and lower resistance. Also make the voltage more constant with load. That makes the weld more consistent with variances in technique.
More power settings - 16 vs 4 or 6. Allows better power settings.
Noise filtering - Caps on AC line and rectifier to surpress noise. These are noticable absent on many Wolf welders; no wonder peoiple mention their lights flicker (and neighbors lights.)
Adding caps to a MIG that was not designed for it will increase the minimum current significantly. Will weld a bit smoother, at a cost of being able to weld thin metal. It is also harder on the diodes; they may fail due to the surge currents.
